Meditations on the Path and Its Qualifications
By Annie Besant 253 pages | Gebonden/Hardcover | Theosophical Publishing House Adyar, 2008 ISBN 9788170595571
Compiled by E. G. Cooper
A quotation a day to meditate upon! This charming little book contains thematic selections — a theme for every month — from the voluminous writings of Annie Besant.
Man and His Bodies
166 Pages | Second edition, 2nd reprint, 2015 | Hard cover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar
This book attempts a simple exposition of Theosophical Teachings. It is a manual, which seeks to make plain some of the great Truths, that render life easier to bear and death easier to face. The first step, it is said, is to realize that we are not our body. We have bodies.
Once the distinction between the self (the human being) and our bodies is accepted, the study of the various bodies proceeds smoothly. The study concludes that the bodies are our instruments, our servants, adapting to our various needs and growing powers. Ultimately, we go beyond our bodies and realize our ´true Self´, in ourselves as also in others.
The Laws of the Higher Life
By Annie Besant (1847 – 1933).
67 Pages | First edition, ninth reprint 2012 | Paperback | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN:
In three inspiring and illuminating lectures, Annie Besant reveals the ‘Reign of Law’ in the Universe and the need for man to understand and act according to that Law for his material, moral and spiritual progress. Man can realize his/her true nature as the Higher Consciousness only in proportion as he ’tranquillizes the senses and retrains the mind‘. He or she advances towards that realization in proportion as he obeys ‘Dharma’, the Law of Duty, by setting himself definitely and resolutely to the fulfilment of all his/her obligations. Ultimately, Dharma lifts man up by leading a life of daily dedication to ‘Self’ realise himself/herself and supporting herewith the liberation of all sentient beings.
Liberation or Salvation
By Annie Besant (1847 – 1933).
9 Pages |Reprint, 1961 | Booklet | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | No ISBN.
” In the early days of Christianity, ere the mass of te unlearned had crushed out the Gnostic minority; ere the loss of the teaching of Reïncarnation had attached the everlasting fate of man to his conduct during a few brief years on earth; in those early days the word SALVATION had a grandiose meaning. It meant that the man who was saved possessed the knowledge of God which is Eternal Life; it meant that he had overcome death and achieved immortality; it meant that he had become a pillar in the Temple of God, to go out in reïncarnation no more […] “
Karma
By Annie Besant (1847 – 1933)
82 pages | Second edition 2016 | Paperback | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 9788170595908.
In response to public demand for a simple exposition of theosophical teachings, Annie Besant designed a set of seven Theosophical Manuals, and Karma is the fourth in that series. These were written for the busy men and women of the workday world, rather than the undaunted eager student, and seek to make plain and lucid some of the eternal truths, that render life easier to bear and death easier to face.
According to Master KH:
” Every thought of man upon being evolved . . . becomes . . . an active Intelligence for a longer or shorter periode proportionate with the original intensity of the cerebral action which generated it . . . Man is continually peopling his current in space with a world of his own . . . a current which reacts upon any sensitive or nervous organization, which comes in contact with it, in proportion to its dynamic intensity . . . [This is given] the name of ‘Karma’. The Adept evolves these shapes consciously; other men throw them off unconsciously. “
In Honour of Dr. Annie Besant – Lectures by Eminent Persons (1952 – 1988)
By Annie Besant (1847 – 1933) with a Foreword by Radha Burnier – 7th international president (1980 – 2013) of the Theosophical Society. Preface by Dr. C.V. Agarwal, general secretary of the Indian Section of the Theosophical Society.
339 Pages | Published in 1990 | Softcover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | No ISBN.
This publication highlights lectures delivered by eminent persons (1952 – 1988) in memory of the great servant of India and of humanity, Dr. Annie Besant (1847 – 1933) – ‘Lover of Truth’ and ‘Friend to all Creatures’. Twenty-four lectures by for instance I.K. Taimni (1898–1978), Achyut Patwardhan (1905 – 1992), Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (1917 – 1984) and C.P. Ramaswami Iyar (1879 – 1966) are included, dealing with:
- The role of India
- Man: his problems and role
- Philosophical presentations
- The modern crisis.
Hints on the Study of the Bhagavad Gita
158 pages | Paperback | Theosophical Publishing House Adyar, 2001
Annie Besant unfolds in this book the spiritual message of the Bhagavadgita, after having studied it deeply, translated it into English and, more than anything, also practised yoga.
Guidance can be found here for learning yoga in its many aspects.
Death and After
By Annie Besant (1847 – 1933).
Softcover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 9788170595755.
This Theosophical Manual by Annie Besant helps us face death more easily. Death and dying are the greatest human fears. Clearly and simply, Dr Besant explains that although the body perishes at death, Life survives. We are each a spark of the Divine life that survives the dissolution of the gross body. Life is a conscious existence unbroken by death, and the soul that escapes from earthly life is but a means to spiritualize the material before we pass on to the life after death.
More Details This useful book has been written for the busy men and women of the work-a-day world, to make plain some of the great truths that render life easier to bear and death easier to face or accept.
Christianity
By Annie Besant (1847 – 1933).
57 Pages | First edition 1941, reprinted 1953, 1962, 1983 & 1995 | Paperback | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 817059264X.
Annie Besant (1847 – 1933), second President of the Theosophical Society (1907 – 1933) was described as a ‘Diamond Soul’, for she had many brilliant facets to her character. She was an outstanding orator of her time, a champion of human freedom, educationist, philanthropist and author with more than three hundred books and pamphlets to her credit. She also guided thousands of men and women all over the world in their spiritual quest.
In 1896, Dr. Annie Besant gave four Convention Lectures on Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and Chrisitianity at Adyar, Madras, on the twenty-first anniversary of the Theosophical Society, the President-Founder, Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (1832 – 1907), being in the Chair. In 1901, she continued the series with another four lectures on Islam, Jainism, Sikhism and Theosophy or ‘Divine Wisdom’ as the common source of all religions at the twenty-sixth anniversary, Colonel Olcott again presiding. Each of the lectures on the seven religions has been published as a separate booklet with the exception of the lecture on Divine Wisdom, and the whole series as a single volume under the title Seven Great Religions.
From page 55:
” My appeal to Christians, as to men of other religions, would be an appeal for unity, for the breaking down of divisions; why should they not come on a common platform with all the rest of the great religion of the world? Why should not this young religion, with only ninenteen centuries of life behind it, come and join with Buddhism with its two thousand five hundred years of existence; with Zoroastrianism and with Hinduism, with their ten thousands and twenty thousands of years rolling backward into the past? Can they not see how they blaspheme God, when they declare that he has kept Himself for only one religion amongst all religions, and that well night the youngest of all? “
Beauties of Islam
62 pages | Paperback | Theosophical Publishing House Adyar, 2002
First Paragraph:
I AM to speak this evening on Islam in the light of Theosophy. Let me begin by saying a word or two as to the relation of that which is called “Theosophy” to the great religions of the world. As you can at once see by the name, if we translate it into English, it means simply “Divine Wisdom”.
By that name is indicated THE WISDOM in its relation to all the religions of the world. Every religion in its turn has grown up from the great Root of the Divine Wisdom.
More Details Every religion in its place is an exposition of the Divine Life in humanity, and so this teaching which takes only the name of the Divine Wisdom, without any sectarian limitation, is the fervent helper and defender of every religion which has uplifted and consoled humanity. It is no one religion, but every religion, that has in it a friend and a defender. About the Author: Annie Besant (1847-1933), second President of the Theosophical Society (1907-1933) was described as a ‘Diamond Soul’, for she had many brilliant facts to her character. She was an outstanding orator of her time, a champion of human freedom, educationist, philanthropist and author with more than three hundred books and pamphlets to her credit. She also guided thousands of men and women all over the world in their spiritual quest. In her earlier days in England, she did remarkable work as a Freethinker and Fabian socialist, and supported many noble causes including women’s suffrage. From 1893, she lived in India and worked indefatigably for the cultural and spiritual renaissance of the country. She organized the Home Rule movement and inspired Indians with a dynamic vision of India’s future.
Avatāra-s
By Annie Besant (1847 – 1933).
137 Pages | Reprinted in 2002 | Softcover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 8170593654.
Through immensely long ages or kalpā-s, climbing steadily the ladder of evolution, the ‘Liberated Ones’ merge with eternal life. Within them burns the flame of Love for all that exists. It is they who, from time to time, descend into manifested forms (avatāra-s) to accelerate the course of evolution. So says Annie Besant (1847 – 1933), who had a profound knowledge of Hindu religious philosophy and tradition, while answering the question: what is an avatāra? in a series of four lectures delivered in 1899.
An Introduction to Yoga
150 pages | Paperback | Theosophical Publishing House Adyar, 2002
Not an exercise book, but an explanation of yoga as a way of life, a first step toward understanding the chief treatise on yoga, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.
An Adyar book, imported from India.
Daily Meditations – Extracts from Letters of the Masters of the Wisdom
Compiled by Katherine A. Beechey
175 Pages |1949, Second edition, fourth reprint 2015 | Hardcover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN 9788170591443
The Wisdom contained in the published letters of the Masters, is not merely for those to whom they were addressed but also for all those seeking to tread the Path of Holiness along the line of Devotion.
Glimpses of that Wisdom can be had through the extracts incorporated by the author into Daily Meditations. She has selected passages suitable to be meditated upon – one each for every day of the year. They are arranged as twelve virtues, with one quality assigned for each month, namely: Unselfishness, Compassion, Truth, Devotion, Purity, Sympathy, Courage, Intuition, Tolerance, Self-reliance, Equilibrium and Perseverance.
From page 43:
DEVOTION
” Relative to the population of the world
you may be few in numbers,
but spiritual strength and power depend
not upon numbers.
Rather do they depend upon burning sincerity. “
The Mahatmas and Their Letters
Door Geoffrey A. Barborka (1897-1982)
422 pages | Gebonden/Hardcover | Theosophical Publishing House Adyar, 2006
Two Mahatmas inspired the founding of the Theosophical Society in 1875. But who are the Mahatmas? Are they real persons? How authetic are their letters? What is the story behind their origin?
These and many more questions are answered in the seventeen chapters of this book, which contain facsimiles of the letters and other material of much interest.
An Adyar book, imported from India.
More Details Geoffrey Barborka (1897-1982) was a profound student of oriental philosophy, particularly, The Secret Doctrine, source book and classic of modern Theosophy. Professionally, he was a printer, but distinguished himself as a scholar, author, and lecturer on Theosophical topics. Other titles by the author: – The Divine Plan – Glossary of Sanskrit Terms: Pts 1-2 (CD) – H. P. Blavatsky, Tibet and Tulku – The Story of Human Evolution
H.P. Blavatsky, Tibet and Tulku
Door Geoffrey A. Barborka (1897-1982)
476 pages | 2006 | Hardcover | Theosophical Publishing House Adyar | ISBN 8170590086
This work is not intended to be a biography of H P Blavatsky. A major portion is devoted to her writings, particularly to the manner in which they are written. The predominant motif is to describe the superior spiritual status she attained before she commenced her stupendous work as a benefactor of the human race. As there is no single English word that conveys the spiritual powers she acquired, the author turns to the orient, to the land of Tibet, for a suitable term – Tulku. This Tibetan term is clarified along with other little known words and a philosophical exposition is given in an illuminating manner, dealing as it does with some of the mysteries of human life which have been studied for ages in the East.
More Details The Theosophist Geoffrey Avery Barborka (1897-1982) was a serious and deep student of H.P. Blavatsky’s life, work and teachings. He conducted for many years classes on Madame Blavatsky’s magnus opus The Secret Doctrine. Probably his most well-known books are The Divine Plan (an indepth commentary on The Secret Doctrine), H.P. Blavatsky, Tibet and Tulku and The Mahatmas and Their Letters.
You
By George Sydney Arundale (1878 – 1945).
278 Pages | First edition 1935, 2nd 1936, 3rd 1956, 4th 1996 | Hardcover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 8170592690.
This book is a brief epitome of George S. Arundale’s Theosophy at its present stage of unfoldment, for though there are certain fundamental principles underlying the Science of Theosophy – possibly such as Arundale has ventured to indicate in the Envoi – at the end, each student should be gradually finding his own Theosophy for him – or herself, his or her own understanding of the Science of Living.
CONTENTS:
- You in General
- The Individual You
- Your Parents and Family
- Your Education
- Your Larger Family
- Your Circumstances and Surroundings
- Your Business and Your Leisure
- Your World in Peace and War
- You and Decision-Making
- You and Love
- You and Death
- You and a Mode of Transcendence
- You and Your Search for Beauty
- You, Theosophy and The Theosophical Society
- You and Your Goal; and Envoi.
From Chapter 11 – ‘You and Death’ (p. 165 & 166):
” A healthy-minded individual, with a minimum of that ignorance about death which is the cause of so much sorrow, will make friends with death, treat him as a colleague and helper, and give him sensible co-operation when at last he comes. And if ignorance has not been at work year after year erecting what it thinks to be formidable barriers against death, barriers which death so easily overcomes, then not only will death be less inclined to be tiresome, but, when he comes, he will feel at home as with a friend. We tend to summon death the more we seek to repel him. And death must smile to watch the frantic efforts we make to keep alive, when so often he would be able to offer a far more profitable condition than that, which we call life; which is but the shadow of a shade of life. What we have to do is to make death part of our scheme and plan of life. We must give him his due place in life, for he is a much life as that which we call life. He is called death only because he is a different kind of life. “
The Song Celestial or Bhagavad-Gītā (from the Mahābhārata)
By Sir Edwin Lester Arnold (1832 – 1904).
154 Pages | First edition 1970 | Hardcover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 0835672301.
The incomparable religious classic of India . . .
In exquisite poetic allegory, Sir Edwin Lester Arnold translates the revered and sacred story of Arjuna and Krishna, representing the eternal struggle between the personality and the Immortal Self.
” Take my last word. My utmost meaning have! Precious thou art to Me; right well-be-loved! Listen! I tell thee for thy comfort this. Give Me thy heart! Adore Me! Serve Me! Cling in faith and love and reverence to Me! So shalt thou come to Me! I promise true, For thou art sweet to Me! “
The Light of Asia
231 pages | Paperback | Theosophical Publishing House Adyar, 2000
An inspiring poetic rendering of the life, character, and philosophy of the Buddha, based on accounts in traditional texts.
An Adyar book, imported from India.
More Details Sir Edwin Arnold (1832-1904) was an English author, scholar, and journalist, perhaps best known for his blank-verse epic poem “The Light of Asia “(1879), which described in elaborate poetic language, the life and teachings of Gautama Buddha. Besides other volumes of poetry, he wrote a number of picturesque travel books and translated Asian literature. After serving as principal of the government college in Pune, India, he joined (1861) the staff of the London Daily Telegraph, where he became chief editor in 1873. He was knighted in 1888.
Theosophical Gleanings
By two anonymous students.
76 Pages | Copyright 1978 | Paperback | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN: 0835602265.
In this small book have been collected together articles authored by two outstanding students of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky’s (1831 – 1891) The Secret Doctrine. What makes this collection so unique is that the two authors were contemporaries of Blavatsky, and consequently, their writing reflects the atmosphere, captures the flavor of, the occult community of the late nineteenth century. All who admire and respect the magnitude of H.P.B.’s philosophy, particularly as expressed in The Secret Doctrine, will find much in this book to enchance their study of the nature of creation and of man.
From Chapter I, ‘Theosophical Gleanings’ or ‘Notes On The Secret Doctrine, Lucifer, Vol. VI, No. 31. London, March 15th, 1890:
” We are literally what our signature says: Two Students, nothing more pretentious. If we are also what has been called ‘communicative learners’, it is because we feel that what have been difficulties to us are probably difficulties to others, and that fellow-students can sometimes lend each other a helping hand over a rough piece of road. In reading ‘The Secret Doctrine’, the student is apt to be confused, even dazed, by the range of erudition, the wealth of illustrations, the abundance of digressions, the number of literary allusions. Devas and Daimons, Dhyani, Buddhas and Kumaras, Yugas and cycles, satyrs and fakirs, alchemists and adept, Manus and Monads, whirl around him in dazzling phantasmagoria, and he rises from hours of effort, his only distinct acquirement a headache.
We have found the most fruitful system of study is to fix on some one thing, to follow it, through all its windings with dogged persistency, steadily hunting it down through the two volumes, disregarding all alluring byways and seductive glades, until there lies before us that one thing in its completeness, with every touch given to it from beginning to end, clear definite, comprehensible. It may be remembered that there was one Proteus who could give the most interesting information, if only you could keep grip on him through all his transformations, until he reassumed his proper shape and became conversable. So, in following the Protean shapes in ‘The Secret Doctrine’, if you can only ‘hang on’ to the end, your reward is true. “
The Garden of Theosophy – (Adyar Pamphlet New Series No. 6)
By Mary Anderson.
28 Pages | First Edition 2006 | Softcover| Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 8170594871.
Theosophy aims to grasp the Wisdom underlying all religions when they are stripped of accretions and superstitions. It offers a philosophy, which renders life intelligible and demonstrates that justice and love guide the cosmos. Its teachings contribute to the unfolding of the latest spiritual nature in the human being, without dependence or fear.
Mary Anderson is the International Secretary for the Theosophical Society. She has lectured widely for the Society in several languages.
From page 5:
” The root of universal brotherhood lies in the origin of humanity, indeed of all the kingdoms of Nature. All beings, even all things that can exist, have one single origin, just as brothers and sisters in a family have the same parents. Love is something that draws us together, that draws us back to the Oneness from which we came and for which we yearn, whether we realize it or not. “
Living Theosophy
27 p. | 1998 | Paperback | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar
Living Theosophy: 1998 Besant Lecture (pamphlet). John Algeo, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus at the University of Georgia, was Alumni Foundation distinguished Professor of English until his retirement to accept the presidency of the Theosophical Society in America from 1993 – 2002.
At the Feet of the Master
Door J. Krishnamurti
85 Pagina’s | Third Reprint 2023 | Softcover | Uitgeverij Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN 8170596033
In dit ogenschijnlijk eenvoudige boek waarvan de leringen duizenden harten hebben geraakt, ligt de uitdaging in het leven van die leringen, dus de noodzaak om acht te slaan op elk woord. Het boek is een van de drie theosofische klassiekers die van onschatbare waarde zijn voor aspiranten op het spirituele pad, de andere twee zijn The Voice of the Silence en Light on the Path.
The Buddhist and the Theosophical Movements
By Prof. C.V. Agarwal, Ph.D. (passed away in 2009).
104 Pages | First edition 1993, second enlarged edition 2001| Hardcover | The Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | No ISBN.
From the Foreword:
” This book relates in detail how Buddhists and Theosophists laboured in friendship to raise Buddhist ideals and teachings to a rightful place of dignity at a time when they were looked down upon under colonial rule “.
Included is interesting information about the great work performed by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (1832 – 1907) to support the Buddhist cause.
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